# Aviation Inspectors

> Inspect aircraft, maintenance procedures, air navigational aids, air traffic controls, and communications equipment to ensure conformance with Federal safety regulations.

- **SOC code:** 53-6051.01
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-6051-01
- **Also known as:** Aircraft Inspector, Aviation Safety Inspector (ASI), Inspector, Quality Inspector, Aircraft Quality Control Inspector (Aircraft QC Inspector), Airworthiness Safety Inspector, Avionics Safety Inspector, Manufacturing Aviation Safety Inspector (Manufacturing ASI)
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Inspect work of aircraft mechanics performing maintenance, modification, or repair and overhaul of aircraft and aircraft mechanical systems to ensure adherence to standards and procedures.
- Investigate air accidents and complaints to determine causes.
- Examine maintenance records and flight logs to determine if service and maintenance checks and overhauls were performed at prescribed intervals.
- Inspect new, repaired, or modified aircraft to identify damage or defects and to assess airworthiness and conformance to standards, using checklists, hand tools, and test instruments.
- Approve or deny issuance of certificates of airworthiness.
- Prepare and maintain detailed repair, inspection, investigation, and certification records and reports.
- Examine landing gear, tires, and exteriors of fuselage, wings, and engines for evidence of damage or corrosion and the need for repairs.
- Recommend replacement, repair, or modification of aircraft equipment.
- Start aircraft and observe gauges, meters, and other instruments to detect evidence of malfunctions.
- Examine aircraft access plates and doors for security.
- Analyze training programs and conduct oral and written examinations to ensure the competency of persons operating, installing, and repairing aircraft equipment.
- Conduct flight test programs to test equipment, instruments, and systems under a variety of conditions, using both manual and automatic controls.

**Emerging tasks** (O*NET):
- Inspect uncrewed aircraft systems, such as drones, to ensure compliance with safety and operation regulations.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Mechanical _(knowledge)_
- Public Safety and Security _(knowledge)_
- Customer and Personal Service _(knowledge)_
- Transportation _(knowledge)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(ability)_
- Education and Training _(knowledge)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(ability)_
- Near Vision _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Microsoft Excel _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- IBM WebSphere MQ _(Specialized Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- IBM WebSphere MQ _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Adobe InDesign _(hot technology)_
- Adobe Photoshop _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- SAP software _(hot technology)_
- SAS _(hot technology)_

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 44th percentile (Moderate) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 44th percentile (Moderate) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 49th percentile (Moderate) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 43rd percentile (Moderate) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 78th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 1.7% growth (About average); 2.5k annual openings; 25.7k → 26.1k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $85,750; 23,320 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-6051-01_